The Startling Effect of Diet on the Brain

The Startling Effects of Diet on the Brain

More and more research is highlighting the strong connection between the gut and the brain. For many years we’ve heard of the damage that can be done to our bodies by high fat and high sugar diets. Now, there is startling evidence that the effects on our bodies are only part of the story, with diet also able to cause changes in the brain.

New research has found that a diet high in fat and sugar causes changes in the gut bacteria that seem to be related to a significant loss of cognitive flexibility, which is the power to adapt to change. The effect was strongest on a high sugar diet, which also impaired long and short-term memory.

The research was conducted on mice (because of their biological and physiological similarities to humans). After being fed different diets, they were given a variety of tests to explore the changes in their mental and physical function, as well as the changes in different types of gut bacteria.

After four weeks on a high fat or high sugar diet, there was a significant decline in the mental and physical function of the mice. One of the most profound changes was in cognitive flexibility.

Magnussen explained cognitive flexibility in this way, ‘Think about driving home on a route that’s very familiar to you, something you’re used to doing. Then one day that road is closed and you suddenly have to find a new way home.’

[irp posts=”590″ name=”Anxiety, Depression and the Surprising Role of Gut Bacteria”]

Someone with a high level of cognitive flexibility would quickly adapt by finding another way home, and remembering to use that same route the next morning. Someone with diminished cognitive flexibility would struggle to adapt to the change, and would likely have a slow, stressful trip home.

The mice used in the study were younger ones, who would typically have a greater capacity to resist the impact of changes to their gut bacteria, or microbiota. In older humans or animals whose biological system might not be as healthy, the effect of high sugar and high fat on cognitive function might be even stronger.

‘It’s increasingly clear that our gut bacteria, or mictrobiota, can communicate with the human brain,’ reported Kathy Magnussen, a professor at Oregon State University.

 This study backs up an abundance of previous research that has demonstrated the influence of food on the brain, and gives us another good reason to taper down on fat and sugar.

5 Comments

Carol

This is such poignant information for my family. Thank you so much! I’ve learned a lot through your posts on your site “Hey Sigmund”. This is practical and applicable advice !

Reply
Noelle

Very interesting … I’ve had an interest in holistic mental/physical health for some time. The theory of the gut as tied to other parts of a person’s health has really grabbed me.

However, I wonder about one part of this article: you mention that studies see high sugar and high fat as similarly destructive of overall health. I agree about sugar (that is, processed sugars). However, from what I’ve read, the common wariness about high fat comes from a faulty lumping-together of ALL kinds of fats into one category, rather than distinguishing different kinds. That is, there is a huge difference in the consumption of processed fats (typical of modern American diets) and the traditional consumption of unprocessed plant and animal fats. Take the French, for example, who seem to have a generous approach to natural fats and yet don’t suffer negative consequences from it. I’d love to see this research taking more of these sorts of distinctions into account, and see how it affects the outcomes.

Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join our newsletter

We would love you to follow us on Social Media to stay up to date with the latest Hey Sigmund news and upcoming events.

Follow Hey Sigmund on Instagram

It is this way for all of us, and none of this is about perfection. 

Sometimes there will be disconnect, collisions, discomfort. Sometimes we won’t be completely emotionally available. 

What’s important is that they feel they can connect with us enough. 

If we can’t move to the connection they want in the moment, name the missing or the disconnect to help them feel less alone in it:

- ‘I missed you today.’ 
- ‘This is a busy week isn’t it. I wish I could have more time with you. Let’s go to the park or watch a movie together on Sunday.’
- ‘I know you’re annoyed with me right now. I’m right here when you’re ready to talk. Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.’
- ‘I can see you need space. I’ll check in on you in a few minutes.’

Remember that micro-connections matter - the incidental chats, noticing them when they are unnoticeable, the smiles, the hugs, the shared moments of joy. They all matter, not just for your little people but for your big ones too.♥️
Too many students are being stifled by anxiety, and this number is on the rise.

Far from being ‘another anxiety workshop’, this comprehensive approach will draw on neuroscience, evidence-based strategies, and highly respected therapeutic models in developing a fresh, impactful approach to working with anxiety in young people.

We will explore anxiety from the ground up, developing a ‘roadmap’ for a therapeutic response to anxiety that will include key information, powerful strategies, and new responses to anxiety to effect immediate and long-term change.

This workshop is for anyone who works with young people in any capacity. 

Includes full catering, handbook and PD certificate.

For the full range of workshops in Australia and New Zealand, see the link in the bio.♥️
Relationship first, then learning and behaviour will follow. It can’t be any other way. 

Anxious brains can’t learn, and brains that don’t feel safe will organise young bodies (all bodies) for fight, flight (avoidance, refusal, disengagement, perfectionism), or shutdown. 

Without connection, warmth, a sense of belonging, feeling welcome, moments of joy, play, and levity, relational safety will be compromised, which will compromise learning and behaviour. It’s just how it is. Decades of research and experience are shouting this at us. 

Yet, we are asking more and more of our teachers. The more procedural or curriculum demands we place on teachers, the more we steal the time they need to build relationships - the most powerful tool of their trade. 

There is no procedure or reporting that can take the place of relationship in terms of ensuring a child’s capacity to learn and be calm. 

There are two spaces that teachers occupy. Sometimes they can happen together. Sometimes one has to happen first. 

The first is the space that lets them build relationship. The second is the space that lets them teach kids and manage a classroom. The second will happen best when there is an opportunity to fully attend to the first. 

There is an opportunity cost to everything. It isn’t about relationships OR learning. It’s relationships AND learning. Sometimes it’s relationships THEN learning. 

The best way we can support kids to learn and to feel calm, is to support teachers with the space, time, and support to build relationships. 

The great teachers already know this. What’s getting in the way isn’t their capacity or their will to build relationships, but the increasing demands that insist they shift more attention to grades, curriculum, reporting, and ‘managing’ behaviour without the available resources to build greater physical (sensory, movement) and relational safety (connection, play, joy, belonging).

Relationships first, then the rest will follow.♥️

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This